I added a pipe to my latest tobacco order to make “free shipping”😬. I’ve wanted one of these for several years now, but thought maybe they were overpriced. Behold, the Missouri Meerschaum “Freehand”. I’m glad I grabbed it. I deem it a worthy purchase, it’s a pretty big pipe, and it has a nice Lucite stem.👍🏻 I did my usual new MM pipe prep. I cut out the extra wood of the shank dowel in the bowl, filled the heel voids with “pipemud”, chamfered the tenon and taper drilled the stem airway. It’s smoking wonderfully. I have it loaded with the C&D’s Smokingpipes 25th Anniversary blend “Reserve XXV Dusk”…since it’s closer to dusk than dawn🙂. I will say this is a better blend than I anticipated, the perique is spicy, and there is some definite dark sweetness, so far I’m not getting a lot of the Dark Fired smokiness. Maybe it will peek through later in the bowl. At this point it’s a condiment or I’m, personally, not sussing it out. One thing I did have to do is take the MM sticker off of the bottom of the pipe and flatten and angle the bottom of the pipe so it will sit. It looked like they got halfway and gave up as there was a center ridge that it teetered on. The correct angle was started, but not finished. It’s still a little tippy since my belt sander adjustment. I either need to sand it a bit more or add a couple of slugs of lead under the MM sticker. I’m not sure more sanding will correct it. I am sure a judicious application of a little lead will set it down solidly.🙂
Tonight I am going to try out the C&D SP XXV “Dawn” (It’s gotta be dawn somewhere🙂). I have it drying a bit, preparing to stuff, excuse me, (gently load) it in my 1927 Dunhill shape 40 Lovat. Notice the classy “drying tin”😉. “Excuse me, but do you have any “Grey Poupon”….I can’t even fake it huh?…..yep, I’m a redneck mountainbilly. My little sister cleared her liquor cabinet of several different bottles that she was not enamored with, good for me, I’ll drink dang near anything 🙂 (that’s the redneck mountainbilly in me again). Tonight I have of mix of ~1/3 Pineapple rum and ~2/3 Cruzan aged rum on the rocks to go with my impending smoke.
I have my one of my Brebbia 1997 Jubilee pipes loaded with some of the C&D 25th anniversary “Dawn” blend this afternoon. The pipe is the Rhodesian from their 1993 edition. This one also happens to be a two star grade Pura. I have a quadruple shot Latte to pair. I’m also in the process of making a brass fuel bottle to compliment some of my old SVEA/Optimus stoves. I purchased an old steel fuel tin awhile back, sadly it was rusted out😖. I have salvaged the two brass spouts and caps to install in the one I am attempting to make from a piece of brass tubing and sheet.
@RockyMountainBriar I have 2 Brebbia pipes... Eexcellent smokers. By the way, that Brasso in the background takes me back to my Corps days and belt buckles... boy was that a pain!
Beautiful finish on that Radice. I didn’t know what a silk cut finsh was, so I looked it up.
<<A silk cut finish on a briar pipe refers to a specific style of surface treatment that results in a very finely sandblasted or micro-rusticated texture, somewhere between a smooth and a traditional rusticated or deeply sandblasted finish. The name comes from the texture’s resemblance to fine silk fabric—not in appearance so much as in feel: it’s soft to the touch, gently textured, and elegant.
Key Characteristics:
Texture: Subtle, delicate, and even—more refined than typical rustication, with light grain exposure.
Visual Appeal: Often used to enhance grain that isn’t bold enough for a high-grade smooth finish but too attractive to deeply blast.
Tactile Experience: Feels soft and comfortable in the hand—less slippery than a smooth pipe, but without the aggressive roughness of a traditional rusticated pipe.
Aesthetic Purpose: Helps hide small surface imperfections in briar while retaining a classy, understated look.
Some artisan and boutique pipe makers use the term “silk cut” or similar phrases to indicate this middle-ground treatment. It’s especially appreciated by collectors who enjoy a textured pipe without sacrificing elegance or comfort.>>
That pipe definitely has a wicked sandblast ring grain and personally I love the color pallet and matching ebonite stem. I’m still breaking it in, it’s running a little wet, but it is getting much better.
@KA9FFJ You have the look of my cat Scrat when I had something tasty that he thought he might like me to share with him and wouldn’t 😀 He was eyeball’in my Pickle Barrel Sub Italian Sammy.
Finally some relief from the oppressive, tropical humidity. It's a beautiful morning in southern New England. Orlik Golden Sliced in my Savinelli Canadian.
Comments
Thank you, sir.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!
Thank you, sir.
I did my usual new MM pipe prep.
I cut out the extra wood of the shank dowel in the bowl, filled the heel voids with “pipemud”, chamfered the tenon and taper drilled the stem airway. It’s smoking wonderfully.
I have it loaded with the C&D’s Smokingpipes 25th Anniversary blend “Reserve XXV Dusk”…since it’s closer to dusk than dawn🙂. I will say this is a better blend than I anticipated, the perique is spicy, and there is some definite dark sweetness, so far I’m not getting a lot of the Dark Fired smokiness. Maybe it will peek through later in the bowl. At this point it’s a condiment or I’m, personally, not sussing it out.
One thing I did have to do is take the MM sticker off of the bottom of the pipe and flatten and angle the bottom of the pipe so it will sit. It looked like they got halfway and gave up as there was a center ridge that it teetered on. The correct angle was started, but not finished. It’s still a little tippy since my belt sander adjustment. I either need to sand it a bit more or add a couple of slugs of lead under the MM sticker. I’m not sure more sanding will correct it. I am sure a judicious application of a little lead will set it down solidly.🙂
Tonight I have of mix of ~1/3 Pineapple rum and ~2/3 Cruzan aged rum on the rocks to go with my impending smoke.
Rum? I’ll drink to that!
Thank you sir.
Nice combo. I've said it before, I love my Charles Towne...
I’m also in the process of making a brass fuel bottle to compliment some of my old SVEA/Optimus stoves. I purchased an old steel fuel tin awhile back, sadly it was rusted out😖. I have salvaged the two brass spouts and caps to install in the one I am attempting to make from a piece of brass tubing and sheet.
I have 2 Brebbia pipes...
Eexcellent smokers.
By the way, that Brasso in the background takes me back to my Corps days and belt buckles... boy was that a pain!
All I did was complete the job...
Nice beat-down🙂👍🏼
Beautiful finish on that Radice. I didn’t know what a silk cut finsh was, so I looked it up.
<<A silk cut finish on a briar pipe refers to a specific style of surface treatment that results in a very finely sandblasted or micro-rusticated texture, somewhere between a smooth and a traditional rusticated or deeply sandblasted finish. The name comes from the texture’s resemblance to fine silk fabric—not in appearance so much as in feel: it’s soft to the touch, gently textured, and elegant.
Key Characteristics:
Some artisan and boutique pipe makers use the term “silk cut” or similar phrases to indicate this middle-ground treatment. It’s especially appreciated by collectors who enjoy a textured pipe without sacrificing elegance or comfort.>>
I’m still breaking it in, it’s running a little wet, but it is getting much better.
Who is that beardless young man? A new member of TPL?
It has been awhile without a beard 🙂
Yes, it's sunny and I'm squinting. I'm not angry... 😏
You have the look of my cat Scrat when I had something tasty that he thought he might like me to share with him and wouldn’t 😀
He was eyeball’in my Pickle Barrel Sub Italian Sammy.